BACKGROUND: Independence level of elderly persons is highly associated to the ability to overcome deficits in cognition, humor, mobility and communication capacity domains and can be measured by instruments which appraise need of help to perform daily living activities.OBJECTIVE: To assess characteristics of the Brazilian version of Older Americans Resources and Services Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire (BOMFAQ) and the version in Portuguese of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) to identify functional dependency.METHODS: Cross-sectional study of a random sample of community-dwelling older people (aged 60 and over) in Ouro Preto, 2002. The elderly people with "much difficulty" or "unable" to perform at least one activity of daily living were considered dependent. The causes of dependence were grouped into the following domains: mobility, mental health, sense organs according to medical examination and weight gain. Statistical analysis was made through the Chi-square test.RESULTS: 102 elderly persons were assessed through medical examination, with 89 of them classified as dependent and 13 as controls, i.e., independent. The HAQ and the BOMFAQ presented sensitivity of 58% and 83%, specificity of 85% and 69%, positive prediction values of 79% and 73% and negative of 67% and 81%, respectively. The HAQ showed good sensitivity, specificity and prediction values to identify dependency in the mobility domain. The BOMFAQ demonstrated good or excellent sensitivity, but low specificity and positive prediction values in every domain. The tests presented good intra-observer accuracy, but low inter-observer accuracy.CONCLUSION: The HAQ is adequate for identifying functional dependency in the mobility domain in a general population of elderly persons. Due to its low specificity, the BOMFAQ can overestimate the prevalence of dependency. Low inter-observer accuracy must be considered in the planning of the studies that use these instruments.

OBJECTIVES: To translate into Brazilian Portuguese and adapt culturally a knee pain screening tool (KNEST) designed for primary care of senior citizens and test it on a sample of elderly patients in Fortaleza, Brazil.METHODS: The translation and cultural adaptation followed the method proposed by Guillemin and coworkers. Elderly subjects enrolled in a health program for senior citizens linked to the UFC medical school and Walter Cantídio University Hospital (HUWC) were contacted by phone. Subjects reporting knee pain within the preceding year were offered a rheumatological evaluation at HUWC. During the evaluation were collected clinical and sociodemographic data, questionnaire on arthrosis (WOMAC, Lequesne) and analogic visual scale.RESULTS: The translated and adapted version of the KNEST was administered to 241 elderly subjects. Most were female (72.2%) and the mean age was 72.3 ± 8.0 years. Knee pain was reported by 48.9% (n = 118), of which 56% was bilateral, 45% was chronic and 48.5% had been previously examined by a physician. Pain killers had been employed by 63% of the subjects. The mean age of patients attending the evaluation was 70.3 years. Of these, 91% presented chronic pain and 50.7% bilateral pain. Clinical diagnosis of osteoarthrosis was established in 97% of cases.CONCLUSIONS: The translated and adapted version of the KNEST was shown to be easy to use and understand and quick to administer (~ 5 minutes). It adequately evaluated knee pain prevalence, severity, chronicity and impact on available health resources. Knee pain primarily caused by osteoarthrosis was a frequent condition among the elderly in this study.

INTRODUCTION: Aging is associated with increased incidence of certain diseases, especially nutritional changes of fundamental importance to maintain a good nutritional intake for people in critical situation.OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at determining the prevalence of enteral nutrition in elderly patients, as well as the factors associated. The data were collected from medical records of elderly hospitalized in an Intensive Care Unit. Sample consisted hospitalized elderly in the ICU, 53.9% were females and 46.1% males, with average age of 76.97 years (± 8.8 DP) for women and 74.92 (± 8.4 DP) for men.RESULTS: It was found a prevalence of 40% of enteral nutrition. The most frequent reason for hospitalization was respiratory failure (7.72%; p < 0,001), the most prevalent type of tube feeding was the nasoenteral one (95.8%; p < 0,001). Among the patients who were dischargerd from the ICU, 81.4% left with the tube feeding. Concerning complications accidental loss of tube feeding was present in 3.6% of cases (p < 0.001). The lengh of tube feeding was higher among men (p < 0.018). The use of a tube is associated with longer time of hospitalization in the ICU: 5 days to 7 days for women and men (p < 0.001).CONCLUSION: The use of enteral nutrition is common in elderly patients hospitalized in critical care unit. As proper nutrition is crucial for recovery, nursing plays an important role in the maintenance and control of possible complications of this method.

During the aging of the woman occur structural and functional alterations with trend to the commitment of the quality of life in this phase. Recent studies demonstrate that practice of regular physical activity assists in the improvement of the quality of life.OBJECTIVES: To analyze and to compare the quality of life of practitioners and not practitioners elderly women of physical activity in the city of Cuiabá - MT.METHODS: It had been evaluated 40 elderly women between 60 to 80 years old, 20 out of 40 were practitioners physical activity in three health clubs in the city of Cuiabá and 20 were not practitioners of physical activity, divided in 4 groups: group 1, practitioners of physical activity socioeconomic level A, group 2, practitioners of physical activity socioeconomic level B, group 3, not practitioners of physical activity socioeconomic level A and group 4, not practitioners of physical activity socioeconomic level B. It was applied the questionnaire of evaluation of the World Health Organization of the Quality Of Life, version in Portuguese with 26 questions. After the application of the questionnaire was assessed quality of life between the groups.RESULTS: The results had been analyzed and had demonstrated that it had a statistical difference (p < 0,05) between the groups related to the quality of life on the domains physic and environment, with better performance for groups 1 and 2.CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that elderly women practitioners of physical activity had presented better quality of life on the domains physic and environment than the group of not practitioners of physical activity.

Cholinesterase inhibitors such as donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine are drugs indicated for treatment of hypocholinergic dementias, particularly Alzheimer's disease. In clinical trials, cholinesterase inhibitors demonstrated beneficiai effect versus placebo on cognitive function, behavioral disturbances and global performance both to patients and carers. Cholinesterase inhibitors side effects are well known, widely discussed and primarily related to the cholinergic system. Nevertheless, so far, little attention has been paid to the use of cholinesterase inhibitors in patients with comorbidities. It is known that the typical patient in use of cholinesterase inhibitors is usually elderly or very elderly with associated comorbidities and receives treatment with multiple medications. The aim of this review article is to highlight the importance of performing a global clinical evaluation prior to the prescription of cholinesterase inhibitors to elderly patients with comorbidities so, rendering the prescription of these drugs safer in this particular group of patients.

This article aims to approach the scientific production on the theme violence against women and elderly in their silence in the face of such a condition, reinforcing the discussion on this theme. For it was done a qualitative approach being a bibliographical revision research. Aging was stated as a current population phenomenon, according to the analysis of the statistical data that presents the increase of the number of people with sixty years old and more. Also, this study emphasizes some aspects of the aging process in Brazil and the female characteristic of the aging, through the consideration that is larger the number of elder woman than elder man. And finally, it approaches the subject of the violence against the elder woman and the actions of the social equipments to soften that sad reality.